Called to Keep Gathering

๐—ช๐—”๐—ฅ๐—  ๐—จ๐—ฃ

โ€ข Name one person you canโ€™t go a week without seeing. What makes this person special?

โ€ข Do you prefer to stay at home or to go out to meet friends? What are some things you consider when deciding between the two?

โ€ข Who do you turn to for advice? Why can you trust this person?


๐—ช๐—ข๐—ฅ๐——

๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ถ๐˜ด ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด, ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ.ย ย ๐—›๐—˜๐—•๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ช๐—ฆ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ:๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฐ-๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑย 


(Read also ๐—›๐—˜๐—•๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ช๐—ฆ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ:๐Ÿญ๐Ÿต-๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ)


Though the early church continued to grow, it was not without its challenges. Gathering together was difficult because of the threats of persecution, as well as their personal differences. But in light of Godโ€™s design for the church, the disciples were urged to regularly meet each other face-to-face and to live out the gospel together. Even today, with the uncertainties and hindrances we face, we are not meant to walk this life or do Godโ€™s mission alone. We can be the Church with fellow believers because Jesus, our ๐˜จ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต, builds us together. In this lesson, let us look at how we can continue to be Godโ€™s Church together.


๐Ÿญ. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฟ ๐˜‚๐—ฝ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐˜๐—ผ๐˜„๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜€.

๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐™ก๐™š๐™ฉ ๐™ช๐™จ ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™จ๐™ž๐™™๐™š๐™ง ๐™๐™ค๐™ฌ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™จ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ง ๐™ช๐™ฅ ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™š ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜จ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ด . . .ย ย ๐—›๐—˜๐—•๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ช๐—ฆ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ:๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฐ


When we care about someone, giving constructive criticism is just as important as positive feedback. Sometimes, just like the spurs on a cowboyโ€™s boots that urge horses to move, this may be uncomfortable or painful. The disciples were exhorted to stir up or spur one another, toward love and good works. This includes challenging and correcting each other to ensure that everything they say and do reflects Godโ€™s love. Loving others may mean telling them what they need to hear and pointing them to Christ. The manner by which we stir up others is crucial. As we continue being salt and light, our intention is not to hurt but to challenge and encourage others in their faith journey. How has someone challenged or corrected you in light of Godโ€™s love?


๐Ÿฎ. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ด๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

. . . ๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฉ ๐™ฃ๐™š๐™œ๐™ก๐™š๐™˜๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ฉ๐™ค ๐™ข๐™š๐™š๐™ฉ ๐™ฉ๐™ค๐™œ๐™š๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง, ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ.ย ย ๐—›๐—˜๐—•๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ช๐—ฆ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ:๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ


Thanks to technology, we have lots of ways to connect to each other. However, meeting in person has one benefit that is crucial for human interactionโ€”being fully present. When we meet online, we can get easily distracted. Imagine if you were to give advice to someone while doing other things at the same time. Your attention will be divided and you may miss out on something God is doing. This is why itโ€™s important that we, as a church, gather together physically. When we meet face-to-face, we get to enjoy Godโ€™s presence together. What are some things that you appreciate about physical gatherings that you canโ€™t do online?


๐Ÿฏ. ๐—Ÿ๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ด๐—ฒ ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ.

. . . ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜จ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ, ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ช๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ฃ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐™š๐™ฃ๐™˜๐™ค๐™ช๐™ง๐™–๐™œ๐™ž๐™ฃ๐™œ ๐™ค๐™ฃ๐™š ๐™–๐™ฃ๐™ค๐™ฉ๐™๐™š๐™ง, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜‹๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ. ๐—›๐—˜๐—•๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—ช๐—ฆ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ:๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฑ


Meeting together physically helps us to encourage one another as we patiently wait for Christโ€™s return. Though we may face challenges along the way, we can overcome them together as we continue to live the Christlike life God designed for us. Part of this life is to gather with fellow believers and relationally build each other up. Recall encouragement youโ€™ve given or received. How has this helped you grow?ย 


๐—”๐—ฃ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—œ๐—–๐—”๐—ง๐—œ๐—ข๐—ก

โ€ข Do you have a hard time telling others what they need to hear? In what ways can you overcome this and ensure that you are doing it in love?ย 

โ€ข How has someone in your church or spiritual family helped you overcome challenges or mindsets that may hinder you from continually building Godโ€™s kingdom with them? How may you continue to address these in light of todayโ€™s word?

โ€ข Think of one or two people who are in need of encouragement. How can you be a loving example of Christ to them this week?


๐—ฃ๐—ฅ๐—”๐—ฌ๐—˜๐—ฅ

โ€ข Thank God for sending Jesus, the builder and cornerstone of the Church, and people who love you and will help you grow. Ask God for an open heart and mind to receive feedback from these people.

โ€ข Pray that God would lead you to a greater appreciation for meeting fellow believers, especially in physical gatherings.

โ€ข Pray for someone who needs to hear about Godโ€™s love today. Ask God to strengthen and be with them in times of hardship.